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Sarasota police got little firearms training, report finds

Sarasota Police Department headquarters. Sarasota Police received less than one hour of firearms training each year, for the past several years, according to a report commissioned by City Manager Tom Barwin for new Police Chief Bernadette DiPino.

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Sarasota Police received less than one hour of firearms training each year, for the past several years, according to a report commissioned by City Manager Tom Barwin for new Police Chief Bernadette DiPino.

Poor or non-existent training, especially for the three areas most likely to result in lawsuits, was one of the major findings of the report.

Former police chief John Lewis conducted the “Comprehensive Needs Assessment” study during December, interviewing officers, city officials and members of the public, before DiPino took over as chief in January.

DiPino, who took over the department in January, said she is aware of the problem and plans to institute training in the fall.

Like other law-enforcement experts, the veteran of the Ocean City Police Department and Baltimore County Police Department in her home state of Maryland could not recall any other police agency that only provided one hour of firearms training to its officers.

“Training is one of the areas I value. It's good for morale, gives you a highly trained professional department, is good for the public, and very important to me,” she said. “I can't say what happened in the past, but I can say what will happen in the future.”

Budget cuts blamed

Before 1997, when the patrol force went to 12-hour shifts, officers received 64 hours of annual training.

From 1997 to 2006, training time was cut in half to 32 hours per year.

Since 2006, the department's union contract required those working 12-hour shifts to be paid overtime for training, Lewis noted — though union officials have challenged the notion of there being any direct relationship between a lack of money for training and their contract with the city.

“This takes anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, but deviates greatly from the eight-hour firearms training given in the past. During the eight-hour training, the officers were actually provided additional training with different firearms in various scenarios, other than just the state-mandated qualification.”

Several firearms instructors, who did not want their names used, point out that merely qualifying with their sidearms — an administrative function to show basic competence — is not training.

Other municipal police departments in the region, which likewise face budget constraints, did not see a similar deep cut in training requirements.

DiPino said she is well aware of the training deficiencies at her department.

“We're making it mandatory that an officer shoot at least twice a year,” DiPino said.

DiPino has a 40-hour in-service training block, which will include firearms training, planned for the fall.

“Because it's a high-liability area, we should be doing it twice a year formally, and during roll call and work time informally,” she said.

DiPino said the union contract, which has expired but remains in effect, would soon be renegotiated.

But any attempt to link a lack of training funds to the union contract is “grossly inaccurate,” said Michael McHale, the president of the Southwest Florida Police Benevolent Association and a Sarasota Police sergeant.

McHale noted that the PBA suggested allowing patrol officers to participate in training on their days off, on an overtime basis to cut costs.

Prior to that suggestion, in order to maintain minimum staffing, the city “hired back” officers for 12-hour overtime shifts so the regular patrol staff could attend training.

“I've heard time and time again, that the contract was prohibiting training,” McHale said. “It was the union that initiated the idea — to reduce costs — to train members on their days off.”

McHale said training is slowly improving. He had just qualified with his sidearm, and participated in some scenario-based drills.

“In the past years, we only performed the minimum amount required for certification,” he said. “Members were concerned. The PBA is always concerned about training.”

City Manager Tom Barwin said when he read the report, the need to increase training “jumped out at me and Chief DiPino as well. We're actively working on increasing training.”

Barwin said the goal is for every officer to receive 64 hours of training each year. The amount dedicated to firearms training has not yet been determined.

He cited two contractual issues, the 12-hour shifts and the requirement to pay overtime to trainees.

“I'm very hopeful we can work through this with the PBA,” he said. “It's in everybody's interests.”

City Attorney Robert Fournier deferred comment until after he had read the report.

State requirements

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which establishes police training standards for the state, requires officers to qualify with their firearms only once every two years.

DiPino hopes to exceed that agency's minimum standards.

“If there's some type of lawsuit, I'm the one that's going to be testifying about what training they had,” the chief said. “The courts won't accept that we didn't have enough money for proper training.”

Glen Hopkins, chief of FDLE's Bureau of Standards, said his agency has no set minimum number of hours for firearms training.

“Keep in mind that this is just the state minimum,” Hopkins said. “Most agencies are doing it a couple of times a year. Being it's a high-liability area like that, most agencies are out there pretty regular.”

<p><em>SARASOTA</em> - This city's police officers are woefully deficient in training, especially in the high-liability areas of firearms, defensive tactics and pursuit driving. </p><p>Sarasota Police received less than one hour of firearms training each year, for the past several years, according to a report commissioned by City Manager Tom Barwin for new Police Chief Bernadette DiPino.</p><p>Poor or non-existent training, especially for the three areas most likely to result in lawsuits, was one of the major findings of the report.</p><p>Former police chief John Lewis conducted the “Comprehensive Needs Assessment” study during December, interviewing officers, city officials and members of the public, before DiPino took over as chief in January.</p><p>Funding at the cash-strapped agency contributed to training deficiencies, Lewis reported.</p><p>DiPino, who took over the department in January, said she is aware of the problem and plans to institute training in the fall.</p><p>Like other law-enforcement experts, the veteran of the Ocean City Police Department and Baltimore County Police Department in her home state of Maryland could not recall any other police agency that only provided one hour of firearms training to its officers.</p><p>“Training is one of the areas I value. It's good for morale, gives you a highly trained professional department, is good for the public, and very important to me,” she said. “I can't say what happened in the past, but I can say what will happen in the future.” </p><p><b>Budget cuts blamed</b></p><p>Before 1997, when the patrol force went to 12-hour shifts, officers received 64 hours of annual training. </p><p>From 1997 to 2006, training time was cut in half to 32 hours per year.</p><p>Since 2006, the department's union contract required those working 12-hour shifts to be paid overtime for training, Lewis noted — though union officials have challenged the notion of there being any direct relationship between a lack of money for training and their contract with the city.</p><p><A HREF="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/627785-john-lewis-report-on-sarasota-police-training.html#document/p2/a97316" target="_blank">“Due to budget cuts, funding to pay patrol officers overtime to attend in-service training was virtually eliminated,”</a> Lewis' report states. “Sometimes what is called 'Firearms Training' is simply a matter of going to the range for the state mandated qualifying, and leaving. </p><p>“This takes anywhere from 15 to 45 minutes, but deviates greatly from the eight-hour firearms training given in the past. During the eight-hour training, the officers were actually provided additional training with different firearms in various scenarios, other than just the state-mandated qualification.”</p><p>Several firearms instructors, who did not want their names used, point out that merely qualifying with their sidearms — an administrative function to show basic competence — is not training. </p><p>Other municipal police departments in the region, which likewise face budget constraints, did not see a similar deep cut in training requirements.</p><p>Venice Police Chief Tom McNulty said his officers receive 40 hours of firearms training per year: 24 hours of handgun and patrol carbine instruction — the weapons the officers carry — and 16 hours of “scenario-based” weapons training.</p><p>At SPD, the lack of firearms and pursuit driving training are “constant concerns by a majority of personnel,” Lewis concluded in his report.</p><p><A HREF="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/627785-john-lewis-report-on-sarasota-police-training.html#document/p12/a97317" target="_blank">“Very little training has occurred for the last two or three years. Recently, the training that is conducted is only the training that is mandated,”</a> he wrote.</p><p><b>More training planned</b></p><p>DiPino said she is well aware of the training deficiencies at her department. </p><p>“We're making it mandatory that an officer shoot at least twice a year,” DiPino said.</p><p>DiPino has a 40-hour in-service training block, which will include firearms training, planned for the fall.</p><p>“Because it's a high-liability area, we should be doing it twice a year formally, and during roll call and work time informally,” she said.</p><p>DiPino said the union contract, which has expired but remains in effect, would soon be renegotiated.</p><p>But any attempt to link a lack of training funds to the union contract is “grossly inaccurate,” said Michael McHale, the president of the Southwest Florida Police Benevolent Association and a Sarasota Police sergeant.</p><p>McHale noted that the PBA suggested allowing patrol officers to participate in training on their days off, on an overtime basis to cut costs.</p><p>Prior to that suggestion, in order to maintain minimum staffing, the city “hired back” officers for 12-hour overtime shifts so the regular patrol staff could attend training.</p><p>The PBA's suggestion cut overtime from 12 hours to four or less, saving taxpayer dollars, McHale said.</p><p>“I've heard time and time again, that the contract was prohibiting training,” McHale said. “It was the union that initiated the idea — to reduce costs — to train members on their days off.” </p><p>McHale said training is slowly improving. He had just qualified with his sidearm, and participated in some scenario-based drills. </p><p>“In the past years, we only performed the minimum amount required for certification,” he said. “Members were concerned. The PBA is always concerned about training.”</p><p>City Manager Tom Barwin said when he read the report, the need to increase training “jumped out at me and Chief DiPino as well. We're actively working on increasing training.” </p><p>Barwin said the goal is for every officer to receive 64 hours of training each year. The amount dedicated to firearms training has not yet been determined. </p><p>He cited two contractual issues, the 12-hour shifts and the requirement to pay overtime to trainees.</p><p>“I'm very hopeful we can work through this with the PBA,” he said. “It's in everybody's interests.” </p><p>City Attorney Robert Fournier deferred comment until after he had read the report. </p><p><b>State requirements</b></p><p>The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which establishes police training standards for the state, requires officers to qualify with their firearms only once every two years. </p><p>DiPino hopes to exceed that agency's minimum standards.</p><p>“If there's some type of lawsuit, I'm the one that's going to be testifying about what training they had,” the chief said. “The courts won't accept that we didn't have enough money for proper training.” </p><p>Glen Hopkins, chief of FDLE's Bureau of Standards, said his agency has no set minimum number of hours for firearms training. </p><p>“Keep in mind that this is just the state minimum,” Hopkins said. “Most agencies are doing it a couple of times a year. Being it's a high-liability area like that, most agencies are out there pretty regular.”</p>